Igo Festival

I am thankful that, on a gorgeous day like today, I had a reason to stay outside all day, enjoying nice breeze and fun big crowd.

As announced a few days ago (in Japanese), a group of young Igo (Go) players in Tokyo, called Igo Amigo, hosted an annual festival at the Roppongi Hills arena.  The group was started by a professional Igo players and amateur Igo freaks several years ago, in the purpose of enlightening young generation with the world of Igo.

Today, I participated as a volunteer.

A professional Igo player teaching a quick introductory workshop

Approx. 4,000 people came to play / watch

Igo is a board game invented in China 4K years ago, but became more popular in Japan afterwards.  Many history figures are known to have played Igo.  It uses black and white marbles, pretty "zen-ish", and has a traditional japanese feeling to it.  The game is much more complex that, unlike Chess, even the strongest computer program still cannot beat experienced non-professional players.

Anyway.

I am also grateful for my colleagues who introduced me to the group, and who teaches me Igo every week.
Thank you so very much.